Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu has urged businesses in Matabeleland South to invest in local opportunities and integrate value chains to boost production, improve market access and grow the provincial economy.
Addressing the business community and other stakeholders in Gwanda recently, Minister Ndlovu said entrepreneurs should identify gaps in local markets and develop solutions instead of waiting for outside investors.
“We have a lot of business opportunities which we can tap into here in Matabeleland South but we are not utilising these opportunities but we are waiting for investors. When we look at the farming we have stockfeed manufacturers that have invaded the province yet we don’t have manufacturers locally yet we are a cattle region. We are just waiting for investors instead of developing our own economy as a province,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said businesses were also losing opportunities by operating in isolation instead of coordinating activities across the value chain.
“Another concerning issue is that we continue to work in silos across the value chain. If we can integrate our supply chain then we can grow the province’s GDP. If we integrate the supply chain then we will be guaranteed to reach markets faster. Coordination and information sharing will also shorten product development and delivery cycles,” he said.
He said integrating supply chains would save time, improve customer satisfaction and ensure reliable order fulfilment, product quality and responsive service.
Minister Ndlovu said Zimbabwe had traditionally imported most of the explosives used in the mining industry, but investment had since gone into local manufacturing.
However, he said Matabeleland South, despite being a major user of explosives, had not attracted an investor to establish a manufacturing plant in the province.
He urged entrepreneurs to explore opportunities in manufacturing and assembling equipment such as hammer mills and bore mills used by small-scale and medium-scale miners.
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